State Workers (MSEA-SEIU 1989) Ratify New Two-Year Contracts

Members of the Maine Service Employees Association (SEIU 1989), voted last week to ratify new, two-year contracts with the Mills administration. The new contracts cover over 9,000 workers in the union’s four Executive Branch bargaining units: Operations, Maintenance and Support Services; Administrative Services; Professional-Technical Services; and Supervisory Services.

“The new contracts now reflect all the tentative agreements and the State’s last, best final offer that members voted on,” said outgoing MSEA President Dean Staffieri in a statement. “We were encouraged that the contracts include a written agreement with the Mills administration to complete, negotiate and implement a new classification and compensation plan in 2024. As these contracts go into effect, we also will begin negotiations with the administration next month on how to implement a new compensation and classification system and address the state employee pay gap per the written agreement from the Mills administration to complete, negotiate AND implement the compensation and classification study in 2024. Those negotiations must start by Jan. 31, 2024.”

MSEA-SEIU members who work in the Executive Branch of Maine State Government began the ratification vote on Dec. 14, a day after the union negotiations team for the workers called for a membership vote on the tentative agreements reached so far and the State’s last, best final offer. The union negotiations team decided to hold the ratification vote last month because the Maine Legislature’s funding authorization for the new contracts would have expired Dec. 31, 2023.

The ratifiedcontracts include:

• 6 percent across-the-board increase in the paycheck nearest Jan. 1, 2024
• 3 percent across-the-board-increase in the paycheck nearest July 1, 2024;
• A Step 9 added July 1, 2024, for an additional 4 percent (workers on Step 8 will advance to Step 9 upon satisfactory completion of one year of service on their next scheduled anniversary date); and a $800 lump-sum payment in lieu of retroactive pay.
• A commitment from the Mills administration to complete and implement the 2020 compensation and classification study in 2024, with negotiations over implementation to start in January 2024.
• Improvements relating to mileage reimbursement, meal allowance, ferry service per diem, state vehicles, tools, winter allowance, longevity, uniforms, reimbursement for courses and education, differentials and stipends, vacation, bereavement, parental leave, childcare benefit, student loan/debt program, employee organization leave, flex scheduling, health and safety, workplace trauma, facilities, seniority, nondiscrimination as well as memoranda of understanding (MOUs) relating to the Educational Unorganized Territories and the Medical Examiner’s Office.